The Field Trip
by Soft Brown Curls
Summary: The Animorphs go on a field trip with a cousin of Rachel and Jake. This is the product of boredom Christmas evening, so it's under revision, but the story is complete.
1. Chapter 1 Starting Out

A/N: I know the Animorphs aren't really close, but this is more my idea of how they would act if they all chilled out a little and really enjoyed themselves. I do not own anything pertaining to the Animorphs. Those all belong to K. A. Applegate. Travis and Dave are my own characters.

Chapter 1: Starting Out

Hi. My name is Travis. Rachel and Jake are my cousins. We go to the same school and we've had some pretty good times. The best time, though, was when I found out about the Animorphs and we helped rescue our fellow campers when there was a freak tidal wave on a river rafting trip. It started out as a pretty normal day…

"All aboard!" Mr. Dixon yelled.

A couple of late freshmen scrambled for a seat on the bus as the doors closed with a soft _whoosh_. The engines started with a rasping cough and the axles groaned as the bus moved slowly forward, marking the beginning of a long bus ride to the river.

Cassie, Marco, Jake and Rachel and I were seated near the back of the bus, watching the hustle and bustle of the inexperienced freshmen as they loaded numberless bags and accessories for the two day overnighter. Cassie, Marco, Jake and Rachel had been friends since – well, since nobody could remember. Now, as high school juniors on the last field trip of the year, they were looking forward to another adventure and a respite from constant peril fighting the Yeerks. Little did they know that danger would not be coming from the Yeerks this time, but from a different venue. Rachel kept looking out the window, well, staring really, at the red-tailed hawk (Tobias) and the northern harrier (Ax) sitting in the trees 20 feet from the bus. Most other kids were too excited to notice, but I love animals of all kinds and gazed with rapt attention at the predators.

"Here we go on another fun-filled adventure with the magic school bus," Marco said. He turned around to lean up against the side of the bus and tease Rachel about her "bird-boy." The resulting scathing look, enough to make the senior football players want to curl up in their half-empty helmets. Marco just continued on, blithely ignoring Rachel's facial expressions.

"Nah; this is the one field trip a year I look forward to. Last year's trip to the river was pretty cool," Cassie said with a grin, "Remember Ms. Pearce's third grade class trip to the post office? This trip is definitely better than that."

"Oh, man! Do I ever; that was the time Marco was lost in the mail sorting room and we found him crying in a corner," Jake laughed. Marco glared at him and opened his mouth to retaliate when Mr. Dixon, the principal, got on the loud speaker.

"Students and staff," he began, "as we embark on this epic journey into the wilderness, let's get a few things straight: I'm going to see no evil, hear no evil, smell no evil, got it?"

There were a few titters from the middle of the bus, where the freshmen were sitting, and Mr. Dixon glared at a particularly smug freshman, Jerry Harris.

"That's right, Mr. Harris: no stink bombs, fish lures or…flatulence in the chaperone tent," he said with a twinkle in his eye. Mr. Dixon settled his glasses on the bridge of his nose and began a long oration of the rules and regulations of student conduct on this last field trip of the year.

Cassie turned around to discuss particulars of the trip with us and, after a heated debate about Marco's idea to prank a group of freshman girls (ultimately ending in an abandonment of the idea), we took a nap to conserve energy and constructively pass the bus ride.

Several hours later, with crunching gravel and screaming brakes, the old yellow bus finally pulled to a stop in front of a moldy hardwood cabin where our guide lived.

I leapt off the bus and pulled out my belongings. My dad is an Air Force PJ (Para Jumper) for the Special Forces and he taught me to pack resourcefully (and light), so I only had the one standard sized backpack, a camelbak full of water, a rolled up sleeping bag and the tent-in-a-bag. There were a few of my favorite MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) thrown on the top of my pack. I economized the situation by swiftly securing the tent to the bottom of the backpack and the sleeping bag to the top with Bungee cords. A nearby freshman rolled her eyes and tugged on a large, overstuffed purple bag stuck under her seat. Jake discreetly gave it a kick and the bag popped loose. The freshman stood and triumphantly swung the bag over her shoulder, making Rachel duck to avoid a faceful of purple mesh. Her eyes blazed as she retaliated: "Hey, watch it!" The freshman ignored her, picked up her matching purple sleeping bag and pillow, sauntered down the aisle to the door of the bus and joined the growing queue of students outside.

By this time, Mr. Dixon had marshaled everyone together and was introducing Dave, the tour guide.

Dave was a California beach bum throwback to the 60s with long, tangled brown hair, a slightly wrinkled Hawaiian shirt and knee-length shorts with worn brown sandals. He had a ball cap with a psychedelic peace sign on it and a pair of sunglasses resting on the visor. His habit of calling everyone "dudes and dudettes" was more annoying the more it was said; and Dave said it a lot. The experienced had learned not to stand too close to Tour Guide Dave on previous trips and this time was no exception. We could see some freshmen standing near him starting to turn blue from discreetly trying to hold their breaths. As a wilderness guru, Dave believed in bathing only when he fell into the river. As he was a river guide, this didn't happen too often; though several students had attempted to push him in. The results were often hilarious for everyone else and Dave remained dry.

Cassie and I were particular favorites with Dave because of our enthusiasm for the outdoors. Unfortunately, this put us at the top of the list for potential raft-mates with Dave. Naturally, where Cassie goes, Jake and Rachel go, too, which also made them favorites for "following" Dave around. Marco just didn't want to be left alone, so this trip was no different: all five of us would probably end up in Dave's raft.

After Dave addressed the newbies, he made a bee-line for his favorites. "Hi dudes and dudettes," he drawled, "It's radical to see ya'll here again. Don't worry; ya still get your place of honor in my raft. Well, chop chop, we're shovin' off in a few. Laters," he said and moved to help some sophomores stow their stuff in the bottom of a raft.

After Dave had moved off, Marco let his breath out and took a cursory sniff.

"All clear," he said and everybody exhaled. "I really think we should all push him in this year; he's overdue for a good dousing," he added mischievously.

"Yeah, I agree. We've put this off for a long time," Jake grinned, "Maybe he'll stop calling us 'dudes and dudettes,' that's really been getting on my nerves for a while now."

"Sounds like a plan," Cassie added, pulling out a water-proof camera, "I'll take the picture."

"Yeah, and I'll trip him if you two push," I said with a shy laugh. I adored the four older teens and cherished my time with them; I just didn't know how to interact with them quite yet.

About an hour later, all the students' belongings had been properly stored, travel groups had been assigned (permanently by Mr. Dixon because some senior girls had made a fuss; the Animorphs and I had secured our group) and the entire fleet of 24 rafts, each carrying 6 bodies, began the "epic journey" down the river. In addition to Tour Guide Dave, five assistant guides rode in random rafts spaced evenly throughout the flotilla, which stretched about three-quarters of a mile down the river.


	2. Chapter 2 Rafting and Camping

A/N: I know the Animorphs aren't really close, but this is more my idea of how they would act if they all chilled out a little and really enjoyed themselves. I do not own anything pertaining to the Animorphs. Those all belong to K. A. Applegate. Travis and Dave are my own characters.

Chapter 2: Rafting and Camping

The water started out smooth and calm and proved easy to navigate at first, but, as the flotilla got farther down the river, the water became faster and slightly choppy. We were in the upper box of the river, or the first half of the journey. We spent about four hours on the water for some of the younger members to get some experience and then they would camp at a beautiful spot on the bank of the river. As the rafts went down the first, very small drop, several freshmen girls (and one very embarrassed sophomore boy) screamed in fear and delight. Rachel rolled her eyes and let her paddle dip lazily into the water, creating eddies around the edge of the paddle. Tour Guide Dave was in his place at the head of the raft, posing like George Washington crossing the Delaware.

As the raft went over another, slightly larger drop, Dave wavered a little at the jolt, but recovered his balance.

Marco shot an evil glance at Jake, who shook his head.

"Not now, we'll do it on the way back," Rachel whispered.

Marco watched wistfully as "Captain" Dave wobbled again, but bent his head back to his paddle with a sigh.

Finally, after three hours of basic drills like paddling, steering, and turning the raft around, the last hour was devoted to learning what to do in an emergency situation.

"Alright dudes and dudettes, we're gonna learn how tuh flip these babies right-side up, in case they flip over in the rougher water," Dave announced. "These dudes and dudettes in my raft are gonna help me demonstrate."

"Oh boy, I'm gonna get wet," Marco said sarcastically.

"Come on, Marco; it'll be fun," Cassie said with a grin.

"Besides, you might be able to show off for that senior; what's her name?" Rachel said with a wink, "You know girls like guys that can swim."

Marco turned red and muttered several threatening things to himself as the group tossed their stuff into another raft to keep dry.

Cassie couldn't keep the grin off her face as they paddled out into the middle of the river to attempt their demonstration.

"Okay, dudes and dudettes, you know how to flip a raft, so let's do it. Try not to hurt any fish or snapping turtles, okay?" Dave said as they positioned the raft to bounce off an upcoming rock and flip.

"One…." Cassie began.

"Yeah, let's not hurt the water breathers…" Marco grumbled.

"Two…" Jake said, a gleam of excitement in his eyes.

"Two and a half…" Marco interjected, raising his paddle.

"THREE…" I yelled as the raft heaved over and my head plunged under the water.

Six heads bobbed up to the surface and lined up on the left side of the raft. We leapt on and grabbed the right side of the raft, throwing our weight back to flip the raft right side up. The raft righted itself obediently and we climbed back into the raft.

"That, people, is how ya flip a raft!" Dave said exuberantly.

"Yeah, now we get to watch them do it," Jake said, leaning back against the raft and pulling his fisher's hat over his eyes.

Marco, Rachel and Cassie followed suit and Dave continued shouting directions at the other campers while the raft floated lazily down the river. I absently trailed my hand in the water and scanned the trees for signs of animal life. I blinked in surprise. Were those the same raptors I'd seen in the trees back by the school? I knew it was odd for raptors to be in the same vicinity, but almost unheard of for a red-tail and a harrier to be within 15 feet of each other. Frowning, I made a mental note to go check Wikipedia when I got home

Finally, after Dave was satisfied that at least a majority of the people in each raft knew how to flip the raft, he gave the command to paddle for the bit of sand that was going to house the campers. It was a manmade mile-and-a-half long strip of beach that sloped up to the edge of a pine forest that stretched for miles. About forty tents were going to be erected in this small space and prime territory was going to go fast so, as the rafts neared the mile marker from the campsite, some of the seniors began to paddle faster.

"Come on, let's paddle and get there first," Jake said and grabbed his paddle.

The others followed immediately and dug their paddles furiously into the water.

"Dig, Travis, Dig!" shouted Rachel as beads of sweat sprang out on her forehead.

"I'm digging, I'm digging!" I responded with a grin as I raised my paddle for another dig.

We pulled even with the senior raft and exchanged glares and grins as the two rafts raced towards shore.

"Get ready to jump to shore when we land!" Jake yelled as they approached the bank.

Rachel, a star member of the gym team and the Animorph with the longest legs, balanced herself on the bow of the raft and, as it scraped the bank of the river, launched herself up on the bank and raced for a spot right on the water where the sand was raised up to a plateau about seven feet above the beach..

The seniors beached their raft just as Rachel grabbed a nearby stick and scrambled up the side of the plateau, clutching for handholds in the clay.

A senior boy leapt up the opposite side of the plateau as Rachel dragged herself onto the flat surface and stabbed the stick into the soft clay.

The Animorphs and I cheered as we climbed out and secured the raft.

Dave started awake from his nap in the back of the raft, oblivious to the drama that had just taken place.

"Alright, dudes and dudettes, let's set up camp!"

"Good job," the senior said with a grin. "I'm Jason Allen," he said and offered his hand.

"Rachel," she replied and took the offered hand.

"You did well in the demonstration today," Jason said as they climbed back down the plateau.

"Thanks; I'm glad you enjoyed it," Rachel replied with a smile. Maybe she wasn't such an Amazon after all.

Cassie rolled her eyes with a grin and helped some sophomores beach the raft that had taken their stuff before the demonstration.

"Well, let's get crack-a-lackin', then," she said, heaving the hideous purple mesh bag onto the beach.

"Hey, be careful with that," the owner said, picking it up and dusting it off.

"See ya around," Jason said and went to go unpack his raft.

"Bye," Rachel said with a grin. She could feel a faint blush rising in her neck and cheeks.


	3. Chapter 3 The Tide Comes In

A/N: I know the Animorphs aren't really close, but this is more my idea of how they would act if they all chilled out a little and really enjoyed themselves. I do not own anything pertaining to the Animorphs. Those all belong to K. A. Applegate. Travis and Dave are my own characters.

Chapter 3: The Tide Comes In…

Later that evening, after all the tents had been put up and the sun had gone down, Dave assembled the group for an emergency meeting.

The normally serene Dave looked rather pale and nervous as he confronted the students:

"We just got word of a really bad storm comin' this way. It might hit us and it might not, but we might want to secure our things and/or move to higher ground. What say you?" Dave asked Mr. Dixon.

"What are the chances of the storm hitting our area?" Mr. Dixon asked.

"About ten percent, but it's a really bad storm," Dave said anxiously.

"Oh, only ten percent? Well, we'll stay here, then," Mr. Dixon said casually and turned back to the marshmallows he was roasting.

"It's your call, dude…your call," Dave muttered and went back to his tent, glancing at his favorites.

Jake turned to the rest of the group, "Okay, guys, ten percent isn't at all threatening, but if the storm is as bad as Dave says it is, we might not want to take the chance."

"Yeah, but ten percent? Come on, buddy; we just set up the tents!" Marco said. He had struggled with his tent for an hour and a half before he would allow me to help. Jake and Rachel had to laugh as they watched me pound in the stakes and whip the tent up in record time.

"Alright, so we stay here?" Jake asked.

"I vote here," Rachel said, her usual fearless self.

"I second," Marco added, not to be outdone.

"Thirded!" I said enthusiastically, warming up to the group. Having Marco ask for my help setting up the tent really helped me overcome a great deal of my shyness.

Jake turned to Cassie and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Well, I guess I don't mind staying here," she said reluctantly.

Jake nodded and said, "I pronounce this motion unanimous."

As the group ate dinner, the wind that had been sighing through the trees behind them and gently ruffling the water began to reduce to a whisper. The air began to be thick with humidity.

"Well, time to turn in, guys. We've got the class III and IV rapids tomorrow," Cassie said excitedly. We said good night; Rachel and Cassie went to their tent while Jake, Marco and I went to ours.

"You look all bright and cheerful," Cassie commented as she and Rachel entered the tent.

"Well, Jason smiled at me tonight and said hi as I passed him in the dinner line," Rachel said with a grin as she rolled out her sleeping bag.

"Awesome!" Cassie said with a grin, "I hope you didn't stick your foot in you mouth with your reply." Inwardly, she was glad Rachel was interested in someone else. She hoped whoever it was would get Rachel's mind of Tobias. Her friend had been in kind of a rut concerning boys and dating since Tobias had been permanently stuck as a hawk, even though that was over a year ago.

Rachel pretended a hurt look and said reproachfully, "Not at all; I smiled, said 'hi' and walked on."

Cassie laughed and said, "That's my bud. You'll have him eating out of the palm of your hand in no time."

Jake and Marco were asleep in their tent before their heads hit the pillow. I was uneasy as I lay restless in my mini tent between the girls' tent and the other boy's tent. My own tent was barely big enough for me to stretch out in; I'd have to talk to Dad about upgrading when I got back. I eventually fell asleep, listening to the lap of water on the beach.

Nobody noticed the water beginning to ebb from the beach during the early hours of the morning. Around two o'clock, about 6 feet of riverbed had been exposed and a soft roar could be heard upriver.

I awoke and abruptly sat up in my sleeping bag, hitting my head on the low ceiling of the tent. Something was very wrong. There were soft patters on my tent that could only be rain.

"Jake….JAKE…" I said urgently, hoping my voice carried between the two tents. "Wake up, Jake!"

Jake sat up groggily and fumbled for a flashlight, "Wasamader?"

"Come on, we've gotta get the girls; something's not right," I said and unzipped the flap of the tent, rushing outside. It was really dark, but the rain was already slacking off and the full moon was a round circle behind the clouds. It would fill out into a ball as the clouds dispersed.

I took two steps through the light rain and pounded on the walls of the girl's tent.

"Wake up, wake up….Rachel, Cassie!" I yelled, rocking the tent.

"What in the world are you doing, Travis?" Rachel asked sleepily indignant as she stuck her head out of the tent.

"We've gotta get up; something's wrong," I explained.

Cassie appeared, fully dressed in her customary crusty overalls, alert and holding a flashlight. "Yes, something is wrong," she agreed.

A red-tailed hawk flew low over their heads, screaming a warning: "Tseeeeer!"

"Look at the water!" Marco exclaimed, looking out at the receding water.

I tore astonished eyes from the hawk now backwinging to land nearby and gazed at the river.

"Tidal wave?" Rachel asked sarcastically, still wiping the sleep out of her eyes.

"Don't be silly, we're on a river, not the ocean," Jake said, looking as if he doubted his own reasoning.

"No, LOOK!" I yelled and pointed upriver. Everybody spun around and stared up the river.

A wall of water twenty feet high was moving towards the little camp.

"Get to the trees," Jake said quietly, heading for the edge of the plateau as the rain intensified.

"What?" a sophomore asked, her face pale with fear.

"Just go," Cassie said and followed Jake down the plateau, pushing the girl towards the trees.

"WAKE UP!" Jake, Marco and I bellowed, sprinting between the tents. "WAKE UP!"

"Jake, there's no time!" Cassie yelled moaned, gesturing towards the river.

"Get to the trees!" he yelled again.

"Come on, guys," Rachel yelled and led the way to the dark trees, banging on tents as she went.

Sleepy heads poked out of tents and then disappeared with screams of terror as the occupants saw the watery wall heading for the little encampment.

Mr. Dixon appeared frantically dragging students from their tents.

"Mr. Dixon!" Jake yelled, "Make the students go to the trees!"

His horrified gaze fell on Jake and he seemed unable to comprehend what he was saying.

"The trees, Mr. Dixon, the trees!" he yelled again.

This he seemed to understand and pushed a nearby student towards the misty tree line, screaming, "Trees, trees!"

The terrified student ran for the trees through the relentless rain, grabbing a friend along the way.

The others and I grabbed panicking students and directed them to the trees as Jake charged towards them.

"Come on, we have to go!" he yelled, gritting his teeth and pushing them towards the trees.

They sprinted for the trees as the water raced for the bank.

Cassie paused at the edge of the trees, watching the majority of the campers struggling out of their tents still, screaming in terror as they spied the water rushing towards them.

The rain stopped suddenly, making the rush of the water the dominant sound at the moment.

"Jake, we need to help them," Cassie said, grabbing his arm and speaking low into his ear.

Jake frowned and then nodded. "Ok, Travis is in a tree, so we should be able to do this discreetly. Tell everyone to go back into the trees. Dolphin morph."

Cassie nodded and grabbed everyone. I saw them head into the trees and gasped. They'd be killed for sure! There was plenty of room in my tree still. I called frantically to them, but Cassie just looked up at me and shook her head. Stunned, I began to climb further up the tree to watch.

A girl right below me began to climb up. She grabbed for a branch, swung herself up to another and slipped on the rain-slick tree branch, falling back to the ground with a thud.


	4. Chapter 4 Rescuers and Revelations

A/N: I know the Animorphs aren't really close, but this is more my idea of how they would act if they all chilled out a little and really enjoyed themselves. I do not own anything pertaining to the Animorphs. Those all belong to K. A. Applegate. Travis and Dave are my own characters.

Chapter 4: Rescuers and Revelations

"Hey!" I yelled, starting down the tree. "Hey, are you ok?" I glanced up in time to see the wall of water tower menacingly over the camp.

The girl dragged herself out of the mud to her feet and flung herself at the tree just as the roiling water entered the camp.

I stopped on a branch about fifteen feet above her and thrust my hand down, reaching for the girl, all thoughts of my cousins and friends pushed to the back of my mind.

She reached the third branch as the water hit the first trees with a powerful force, making the tree groan and lean.

"Jump - you have to jump!" I yelled, reaching down for her.

The girl gathered herself and made a lunge for my outstretched hand just as the water hit the tree.

Instantly, her legs and waist were engulfed in a wave of icy river water and the current threatened to pull her under, but I hung on.

"Hang on!" another girl screamed from a nearby tree.

The girl lifted her head, stark terror blazing out of her eyes.

I was bracing myself against the tree branch, leaning out almost horizontal backwards over the water, holding onto the girl's hands with both of mine. My hair was plastered to my forehead and the muscles in my arms stood out as I strained to keep hold of her.

Just when it seemed I couldn't hang on any longer, I saw two dolphins appear on either side of the girl. My jaw dropped in astonishment. One dolphin was trying to lessen the pull of the water and the other was giving the girl a push up. I pulled and hauled the girl up onto my branch with a grunt.

The girl released one of her hands and grabbed the tree branch we were standing on, draping herself over the sturdy, reassuring surface. "Thank you," she gasped, chilled to the bone, "Thank you."

I looked for the dolphins. I saw a student fall from a branch and a dolphin suddenly appeared to push him back up. I counted one, two, three, four, five… no, six! Six dolphin heads were popping up, rescuing students, towing students back from having been washed downstream… I even saw one student and two dolphins explode out of the water, the boy gasping for air. I would later learn the boy had been tangled in his tent straps, unable to get out.

Suddenly, the water began to ebb. Waves were lapping around branches lower and lower down the tree-line. The tent poles from the top of the plateau began to poke up out of the water that was now behaving playfully, all traces of menace gone from its demeanor.

I suddenly remembered my cousins and friends and leapt down the branches, eager to get down, though the water hadn't completely ebbed yet. I was just going to slowly climb until the water was low enough to wade or walk through. My foot slipped on that same dagblasted branch the girl fell from, though and I fell headfirst into the icy water.

The current was surprisingly strong; I grabbed at rapidly passing branches, snagging them with fingertips and having them ripped out of my grasp. The girl I had rescued screamed and then my head went underwater.

I scrambled back to the surface, gulping in air before being plunged downward again. I saw shrubbery on either side of me now and knew I was headed downstream. I let out a yell and tried to get to the side of the river, but the current flowing down the middle was too strong.

Suddenly, I heard Rachel calling me: _Travis!_

I looked around wildly, but I couldn't see my cousin.

All of a sudden, a dolphin appeared under my arm. I latched on to the stubby dorsal fin, fingers slipping on the slick, rubbery skin. Another dolphin appeared on my other side. Somehow, I managed to drape my arms over their backs, just in front of the dorsal fins. That gave me enough leverage to keep myself firmly between the dolphins as they maneuvered out of the current and headed back upstream.

"Rachel!" I yelled, looking around wildly, thinking my cousin was in the water somewhere, "Rachel, where are you?!"

The dolphin to my left turned its head and gazed balefully at me. _Travis, stop yelling_.

That stopped me mid-yell. She sounded so close and… clear. I could hear her easily over the roar of the water; almost like we were sitting together in a quiet room. Did that dolphin really just look at me… balefully? I could almost tell the dolphin was annoyed with me… but that wasn't possible, right.

_Yes, Travis. It's me, Rachel. I'm the dolphin_.

I let out a yelp and gave an involuntary jump, sending myself underwater. I spluttered as I surfaced again and gingerly put my arm across the dolphins' backs. I glanced from one dolphin to another.

Jake sighed. _And I'm the other one_.

I peered into the eyes of the dolphin on the right. The dolphin nodded its head vigorously up and down.

"I'm dreaming," I said suddenly, "There's no way this is happening."

The dolphins suddenly ducked out from under me, leaving me to flounder again.

_You are NOT dreaming_, Rachel said. The-dolphin-who-was-Rachel splashed water at me. _See? That's cold. And you can't breathe water_, she added, swimming back under my arm as I floundered again.

By this time, we were approaching the beach and I could soon feel my feet scraping the river bottom.

The dolphins helped me stand and then wriggled back into deeper waters.

_Distract the others; we'll be back in a few minutes_ Rachel called, and then dove under the water.

I was stunned, but obediently turned and began to scramble up the plateau for a better view. Yep, I counted 6 blow spouts, six dolphins. Hmm….

"Travis!" Mr. Dixon yelled and, grabbing me by the shirt, half pulled, half led me up the embankment. "Where are your cousins?" he asked frantically, scanning the faces of the students that were slowly, wearily appearing out of the trees.

"I… I think they're still climbing out of the trees, Mr. Dixon," I said thoughtfully.

Mr. Dixon nodded and ran back towards the tree-line, directing students to salvage what they could from the wreckage.

There was a rustle in the bushes to my left. I turned and was face to face with the red-tail. The harrier was sitting on a branch not 3 feet away.

_Rachel spoke to you_. a voice said.

I my his head, " Are you… are you.. . speaking? To me?"

The hawk wore a pained expression and sighed.

_Yes, I'm speaking to you. You know about us now. Rachel wanted me to tell you to find some clothes for everyone. Let me know when you find them_.

I nodded and stumbled over to the plateau, dragging myself wearily up the slick, muddy sides. When this was all over, I wanted a nap.

Luckily, I found clothes for everyone, though the tent poles were so tangled on the girls' tent, I had to use my Special Forces folding blade that Dad gave me last Christmas. When that went too slow, I reached for the K-Bar strapped to my left calf. That sliced the fabric apart like butter.

I wadded the clothes in a big ball and ran back to the bushes. Luckily, I was out of sight of everyone else. _Pretty handy spot_, I thought.

The hawk and harrier were still there.

_Great, Rachel and the others are waiting about 10 yards down the beach and back in the trees. Be quick, though. Mr. Dixon is getting too close to them_ the hawk thought with some agitation, glancing down the beach.

I nodded and, summoning still more strength, I mustered a jog down the beach. That swim had really taxed my strength; maybe I'd better start working out with Dad. My dad was a beast, able to do 70 pushups or 77 situps in a single minute. I could do 59 pushups and almost as many situps, but there is always room for improvement.

Sure enough, I found Rachel and the others right where the hawk said they'd be._. No wonder they need the clothes_, I thought, _they're all in spandex_. Gratefully, they took the soggy clothes and put them on.

"Ok," Jake said, teeth chattering slightly, "Let's get back to the others."

We all walked slowly back up the beach, waving reassuringly to Mr. Dixon as he raced towards us, shepherding us back to the knot of students.


	5. Chapter 5 Crossing the River

A/N: I know the Animorphs aren't really close, but this is more my idea of how they would act if they all chilled out a little and really enjoyed themselves. I do not own anything pertaining to the Animorphs. Those all belong to K. A. Applegate. Travis and Dave are my own characters.

Chapter 5: Crossing the River

The Animorphs and I surveyed the wasted campsite. Very few tents remained and almost no bags. Jake later said they owed the survival of their belongings to me: he said that they had to hand it to me, I could pitch a sturdy tent.

"Hey dudes and dudettes!" Dave called, sauntering up the beach. He was sopping wet, for which the students were grateful as he neared them: the absence of his overpowering stench was a great relief.

A few other guys and I managed to rig a makeshift shelter for everyone out of the remains of the tents. Exhausted, we all curled up together for warmth and fell sound asleep to the rushed lapping of the waves.

The next morning, Dave roused us and announced we'd have to cross the river. He had some of his junior guides on the other side of the river with vans and buses, ready to truck everyone back. The only thing to do was get across the river which was still flowing rather swiftly. I had loaned Dave the use of my water-proof satellite phone with built in GPS. With a little help, Dave was able to send a message to his guides with our location, status and the order to bring transportation.

For a while, there was debate about how to get across. Some were advocating swimming; others wanted to string a rope across. The river was about 40 yards wide, so neither of those ideas were really valid options. Nobody had 40 yards of rope, so the latter idea was out and it'd have to be a born swimmer to be able cross the current raging in the middle of the river. I grinned at Rachel.

"I've got an idea," I said.

Marcos smiled and rubbed his hands together. "This sounds like it might just work."

Rachel rolled her eyes, but slipped away unnoticed. She soon returned and nodded. The Animorphs gathered in a small knot to watch the proceedings.

I waited a few minutes and approached the water's edge. Some people stopped to watch as I waded out and started slapping my hands on the water. Mutters began to start up: "…gone crazy…", "…lost something…", "won't catch a fish that way…"

All of a sudden, two dolphins surfaced nearby, opening their forever-smiling mouths and talking with loud whistles and creaks.

"Toss the rope in the water when I get close," I yelled at the guides on the other side of the river. I plunged into deeper water and the dolphins swam into place. _This is going to work_, I thought. I was vaguely aware of Mr. Dixon's protestations, but I focused on the guides preparing to toss the rope to me.

As we got to the middle of the river, I could feel the current picking up, so I tucked my legs up close to my body to shield myself between the two dolphins as much as possible.

Finally, we were in range for the guides to toss the thick rope to me. After a couple of fails, one of the dolphins lunged for the rope, surprising me. I swallowed a good bit of river water and coughed violently for a minute or two. The dolphin looked at me apologetically.

_I apologize_.

"No worries," I spluttered, grabbing the rope and pulling myself up the side of the embankment. The guides reached down to help me up as I scrambled over the edge. I turned and waved to those on the other side.

"Everyone, come on!"

People looked at each other uncertainly. Then Cassie strode purposefully into the water. She draped her arms over the dolphins' backs like I did and, when they reached the other side of the river, she pulled herself up as well.

And so it went for the next hour and a half. Somebody fashioned a harness of sorts out of the makeshift shelter so that 6 people could go across at a time.

When everyone was safely over, the dolphins gave a weary leap and disappeared downstream. We were all herded into buses and Mr. Dixon insisted on taking roll three times before he would allow the buses to depart. Everyone was clapping me on the back and asking how I knew to call the dolphins. I just shrugged and said it was gut instinct. I'd seen the dolphins helping students during the flood and hoped that they were still around. This launched other students into telling their stories about being saved by the dolphins, effectively getting me out of the spotlight.

Once the bus gave the initial lurch up the dirt path and things were quieting down, I turned around to face Jake and Rachel. "You guys owe me some explanations," I said mildly, folding my arms on the seat, putting my head down and looking up at them with expectant eyes.

Rachel laughed and Jake shook his head, grinning. "Wait til everyone's asleep," he whispered, glancing around the bus, "We'll tell you then."

I shook my head and opened the sodden backpack. All the food had been swept away in the flood, but I still had the MREs! I ripped open the spaghetti and the shrimp jambalaya and passed them around to the others, keeping the meat patty one to share with Marco who was sitting next to me. Everyone said the meat patty smelled like dog food, but it was the only MRE with two wheat snacks and the bacon cheddar spread to go with them. I smiled as I munched on one of the wheat snacks and had the meat patty with the BBQ sauce in my lap. The rest I gave to Marco. We all munched quietly.

A little bit later, everyone was asleep on the bus and I turned around expectantly.

And so it was that, in the back of a dirty old bus that stunk of algae, I heard the secret of the Animorphs. When we got home, Rachel and Jake took me out into the nearby woods to meet Tobias and Ax. And I became a part of the resistance against the Yeerks. Later, it would be my privilege to provide valuable equipment and skills for the use of the Animorphs in the war for humanity.


End file.
